All-New Murano Has an Aggressive New Design and Performance to Match

Nissan reinvents the Murano and possibly the entire brand along the way. The 2025 Murano has a completely new exterior, a luxurious and innovative interior, and brings additional innovation under the hood. It remains a mid-size crossover but is ready to take on upscale crossovers from Toyota, Mazda, Honda, and others. Dick Smith Nissan of St. Andrews introduces you to the all-new 2025 Murano. 

The very first Murano was known for its style. First appearing at the 2002 New York Auto Show as a forthcoming 2003 model, the Murano broke SUV conventions. (the term crossover hadn’t been established yet). Instead of its competitors’ truck-like blunt, upright front end, it sported a low, wide grille flanked by headlights that were all flush with the rearward sloping sheet metal. The lower edge of the rear quarter window sloped up at a 45-degree angle to the roofline, disrupting any kind of wagon/SUV look. Subsequent design generations remained fashion-forward, perhaps to a fault.  

By contrast, the new Murano has less fashion and more design. It looks significantly more cohesive with a bold overall design theme from front to rear. It unquestionably displays a family resemblance to the similarly sized Ariya EV, but this is not an Ariya with a gas engine dropped in. It is about ten inches longer than its EV sibling and has a two-inch longer wheelbase. It is also two inches wider and taller and has three inches more ground clearance.  

A recent popular design convention seen by Chevrolet, Jeep, and others has been to have high-mounted low and wide LED daytime running (DRL) lights that look like headlights when the actual headlights are tucked into the corners down below. The Murano has high-mounted low and wide lights, but they actually are the car’s headlights, sporting three LED pods apiece. Down below, the brand’s long-standing V-motion grille has either undergone a major transformation or been scrapped entirely. You decide. There is still a V-like widening of the shape as it rises on the front end, but it appears to stretch to the vehicle’s entire width at the top, and there is no border “yoke” perimeter as before. The LED lights flank each side of the grille, with their multiple thin, light elements masquerading as the grille’s bright trim slats until they light up with a distinctive look. 

There is a soft coke-bottle shape to the lower body, though your eyes can’t help but follow the bright trim that forms one continuous curve over the windows before extending beyond them to almost reach the full-width taillights. It creates the illusion of a fastback roof while the roof remains high with a more subtle slope to create a spacious cabin. An available contrasting black roof amplifies the effect. The bold appearance is accentuated by standard 20-inch wheels, even on the base model, growing to 21 inches on the top-ranging Platinum trim.   

Inside, the force of Murano’s design continues. Both the gauge cluster and center touchscreen are large 12.3-inch displays. But rather than appear as though they were just stuck on top of the dash like many competitors, they are integrated within a sweeping leather-like hood. The dash has a strong horizontal theme with climate vents hidden within sloping trim and unique placement of the climate controls. Like other models, the dash has a textured or wood grain accent surface. However, instead of the climate controls forcing the accent to bend around them, they are embedded within it. Start the car, and they transition from invisible to light up through the surface, like the DRLs. Each control provides a distinct indent feel when engaged. Naturally, this can’t be done with actual wood grain, but it is so beautifully done that you don’t care.  

Under the hood, Nissan tossed aside the previous model’s V6 in favor of a turbocharged 2.0-liter inline-4. This engine includes the Nissan brand’s exclusive variable compression technology, which enables a high compression ratio when the turbo boost is low. The compression then scales back as the turbo effectively creates its own compression. Everyone else’s turbocharged engine just stays with a low compression ratio. The result on paper is 241 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. The pleasant surprise for the driver is the amount of punch in the engine, even when rpm is low.  

Nissan takes advantage of this quick engine response with a sport mode that you can immediately feel through the all-new electric steering system and the way it keeps the 9-speed transmission in the engine’s high torque band. As Cars.com opined, “But if you come upon some twisty paths, man, just go for it. Nissan did a great job making the Murano fun to drive.” When the road stretches out, turn the Drive-mode selector back to standard mode, and you have a comfortable cruiser.  

The 2025 Murano has a starting price of $40,470 for an SV with front-wheel drive and another $1000 for all-wheel drive (AWD). The SL and top-ranging Platinum trim both have standard AWD and starting MSRPs of $46,560 and $49,600, respectively. Dick Smith of St. Andrews invites you to come and take a look at the all-new 2025 Muranos entering our inventory. If you are in the market for something significantly smaller, take a look at the equally all-new Kicks, now with available AWD and much of the same advanced thinking into its design.